Mother of Runes is an incredibly strong card in Legacy. It’s a staple of Death and Taxes, giving protection to itself and key creatures. It stops removal, blocks anything, and lets you attack freely. On top of that, it’s even a human, one of the most coveted creature types, especially for Modern. The card is so strong that many have deemed it too powerful to import into Modern. However, Wizards of the Coast instead found a middle ground and made a fixed version for the format: enter Giver of Runes, the latest reveal in a slate of incredibly interesting Modern Horizons spoilers!
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Breakdown
Just like Mother of Runes, Giver of Runes is a 1-mana white creature that gives protection from a color to another creature. However, there are some subtle differences in Giver of Runes that make it a bit more balanced for Modern. The major one is that its effect can no longer target itself, opening it up to removal. It also can give protection from colorless, shielding your creatures from artifacts, Karn Liberated, or any of the Eldrazi. In addition, it gets an extra point of toughness and is now a Kor Cleric.
Had this card been a human, it would have been a bit too strong. Humans would’ve instantly slotted the card in and abused it to no end.
Instead of humans, Giver of Runes looks to have a few other homes in Modern that can use her quite well. Martyr Proc can easily revive it with Proclamation of Rebirth and search it out with Ranger of Eos. Death and Taxes may try it to protect their hate bears like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. Devoted Druid combo may also give it a shot to find off Chord of Calling as a layer of protection for their combo. There are so many options for white creature decks to slot this card in, it’ll be interesting to see where it inevitably finds a home.
Published: May 21, 2019 11:43 pm